RiceDumpling

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RICE DUMPLINGS
Michelle Lin

Figure 1. Rice dumplings

Rice dumplings, also known as Zongzi in Mandarin, are traditional Chinese food made from glutinous rice, stuffed with filling, and wrapped in leaves. The common fillings include Chinese BBQ pork, Chinese sausages, chicken, salted pork fat, dried scallops, salted egg yolks, Chinese black mushroom, cooked peanuts, taro, and topped with soy sauce (1, 2).

Figure 2. Rice dumpling's stuffing.

While the traditional rice dumplings are wrapped in bamboo leaves, nowadays it is also commonly wrapped in reed leaves, lotus leaves, or even banana or ginger leaves. Each kind of leave would offer a distinct smell and flavour for the rice (1).

Figure 3. Rice dumpling leaves

The rice dumplings are generally cooked by steaming or boiling for hours (1).

Figure 4. Steamed rice dumplings.

HISTORY OF THE FOOD & SPECIAL ROLES WITH THE CULTURE
Rice dumplings are made in commemoration of Qu Yuan. Qu Yuan was a famous Chinese poet who served the emperor of Chu Kingdom during the warring states period. He was a patriotic minister, and was loved and respected by the people of China (1). Qu Yuan tried to warn the king about the coming attack of the nearby kingdom. However, the evil court official was jealous of Qu Yuan and convinced the weak-minded emperor that Qu Yan was a traitor. As a result, Qu Yan was dismissed from the emperor’s service. Filled with hate and grief, Qu Yan ended his own life jumping into the Miluo River as a protest against injustice and corruption of the kingdom. When the emperor finally learnt the truth, he sent the people out rowing their boats to the river to look for his body, while the house wives started making rice dumplings to throw into the river, hoping that the fish and the sea creatures would get full on the dumplings, thus preserving Qu Yan’s body. From that day onwards, the fifth day of the fifth month on the lunar calendar is known as the Dragon boat Festival, where rice dumplings would be eaten by the Chinese (1, 3).

Figure 6. Dragon boat festival

Rice dumplings serve a special cultural role in the society. It is a social activity: During Dragon Boat Festivals, family member would gather around the table making the rice dumplings together. The finished dumplings would then be eaten while watching the dragon boat race if there is one near one’s place, exchanged with friends and relatives, or used as offerings for the ancestors (1, 3).

Figure 7. Family making rice dumplings.

The skill of making the rice dumpling is also a tradition that is passed down by the family through generations. By repeating this practice of the past, one could recollect the sweet and fragrant memories of pleasant family gatherings. Thus, for many people, rice dumpling is a ‘taste of home’, when ‘home’ here refers to a family and a communicative cultural family, rather than a specific place (1, 3, 7).

HOW TO MAKE RICE DUMPLINGS
1. Soak glutinous rice in water to soften.
2. Put two leaves of your choice together and fold them like a funnel.

Figure 8. Funnel.

3. Fill the leaves with rice and fillings of your choice.

Figure 9. Fillings

4. Wrap the leaves tightly and tie them with a string.

Figure 10. Strings

5. Cook them by steaming or boiling for an hour or two (2).

Figure 11. Cooking

CHANGE OF CONSUMPTION PATTERN & REASONS FOR THESE CHANGES
There is an old Chinese saying that goes, “People’s life depends on eating”. This saying alone reflects the important status food holds in the culture of China. Since the ancient Chinese time, food was seen as not merely a means for survival, but more as a form of art and pleasure. However, as women began entering the workforce and people are getting busier and busier, there has been a perceived change in the eating pattern among Chinese in the past 30 years. Due to time constraint, food prices, as well as increasing food choices in the markets, Chinese people find themselves eating out or buying ready-to-eat food on a regular basis, something which was extremely uncommon just 3 decades ago (13).
Rice dumplings used to be consumed only during Dragon Boat Festival. However, due to the fact that it is extremely time-consuming to make, a new pre-cooked version of rice dumplings have emerged to meet the demand of the busy consumers. Such pre-cooked rice dumplings only need to be microwaved for a few minutes before it is ready to eat. It can now be found at all sort of nearby Asian stores as well as in restaurants (1, 8, 9). Due to such convenience, rice dumpling is gradually no longer seen as a cultural food, but a common everyday food that people are eating for lunch, dinner, or even just for snacks.

Figure 12. Person selling rice dumplings.

IMPACT ON HEALTH
Chinese people’s diets are characterised by being high in carbohydrates, with a sprinkling of protein and fat (15). Rice dumplings are a perfect example of Chinese cuisine.

Rice dumplings give people the impression of being healthy due to the fact that they are steamed. However, the glutinous rice contains more starch than normal rice, which means that people are essentially just consuming carbohydrates (6). While being an essential food source, carbohydrate has a high glycemic index, which offers one a fast energy boost by rapidly increasing one’s blood sugar and insulin level, but also endorses and equally fast drop in blood sugar level, which triggers the return of hunger, and as a result people tend to eat more. Research has shown that excessive blood sugar and insulin rise is associated with the development of chronic conditions such as cancer, heart disease and diabetes. In fact, there has also been a 400 percent increase in diabetes over the last few years due to high carbohydrate intake (15). Carbohydrate also contains a fair share of calories, and is one of the main contributors to Chinese people’s increasing weight gain and obesity prevalence comparing to 3 decades ago (14, 15).
Eating rice dumplings regularly would lead to one consuming excessive amount of salt and fat (5, 6).Rice dumplings contain sausage, pork fat, salted egg yolks and salted peanuts, with Chinese black mushrooms being the only source of vegetable. While it contains essential protein, being mostly pork products, fat makes up most of its weight (16). It is not that fat is bad. In fact, monounsaturated fat and polyunsaturated fat are both beneficial as they serve as a protective agent against heart disease. However, the kind of fat is present in rice dumplings is mostly saturated fat, which unlike others, the carbon atoms in saturated fat hold on to as many hydrogen atoms as they possibly can, forming straight chains, physically clogging the arteries in a process known as atherosclerosis, which means that the blood can no longer circulate to the heart. Thus, it is a major risk factor of coronary heart disease (15, 17).
Rice dumplings also contain a huge amount of soy sauce as flavouring, which we know is high in salt content. Salt, also known as sodium chloride, has the important role of maintaining the balance between extracellular acid and base, transfer of energy, uptake of nutrients and balancing both intercellular and extracellular fluids. It however, also has strong association with high blood pressure, which is a major contributor cardiovascular disease (17).
Dried shrimps and chestnuts are some of the most common ingredients used in making rice dumplings. Both of them, however, contain excessive amount of sulphur dioxide that could lead to serious health problems if eaten regularly (5).
Now that pre-cooked rice dumplings can be purchased at the market place, it raises new concerns. Research has shown that about 8% of the rice dumpling sampled at shops failed to achieve the food safety standards. First off being the presence of Bacillus cereus, a bacterium that is always associated with rice products. It contains spores which are unlikely to be destroyed through the process of boiling or steaming. Inadequate cooling of the cooked rice or inappropriate storage methods would allow spores to germinate, which may result in food poisoning: causing nausea, vomiting and diarrheal syndromes for the person that consumes it (4, 11).
Secondly, it often contains salmonella, which is quite commonly found in the gastrointestinal tract of poultry and pigs. Salmonella poisoning results in fever, abdominal cramp and vomiting symptoms for the consumer (4, 12).
Boric acid is something that is almost always added into rice dumplings to provide it with a fresher appearance and a better texture. However, excessive amount boric acid leads to damage in the human organs (4).
Last but not least, heavy metal contamination is commonly found in rice dumplings under the Food Surveillance Program of Centre for Food Safety, and is highly poisonous (4).

HEALTHY ALTERNATIVE
Nowadays, people are becoming more health conscious. So how do we make a compromise between healthy eating, without sacrificing the essence of our culture? The solution would be to recreate the traditional food, but with fresh, healthier ingredients, and cooked in a way that preserves its nutritious value without having to add extra oil.
For rice dumplings, they are already traditionally steamed or boiled, which is a good start.
Secondly, it would be a good idea to substitute glutinous rice, which is essentially pure carbohydrate, with sticky brown rice or multi-grain rice: brown, red rice plus millet and buckwheat. They still contain carbohydrate, but also contain the goodness of fibre and vitamins. Pearl barley rice would be another healthy alternative (10).
Instead of the traditional pork fat, sausages and salted peanut, use Chinese mushroom, walnuts, chestnuts and lean meat as the main fillings. They are healthy options without having to sacrifice the taste and texture (10).
Lastly, when tying the rice dumpling inside the leaf, use hemp string as they are bio-degradable, thus environmental friendly (10).